The AntiHero's Quest
by reforgedGaara
Summary: Alexandra is the newest transfer student to Hogwarts, she is deadly, cunning and ruthless...Nicholi is the Prefect of Slytherin, and her age, he is cunning, ruthless, deadly and powerful. Will these two students stop the oncoming darkness, saving the scho
1. Chapter 1: The Sorting

Ch.1 The Way Of Things

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any affiliated Characters.

Hogwart's newest addition surveyed the mass of students through the small opening in the heavy oak doors leading into the Great Hall. Her dark crimson eyes scanned over the sea of simplistic, easygoing teenagers with disdain, searching for someone who could relate to her. Pointed elven ears hidden beneath long brown hair, her Drow heritage was seemingly nonexistent. A recluse among her own race, outlawed from the Underdark due to her father's heretical teachings, she was used to being an outcast. And although these people would know nothing of her, she knew instinctively that they would instantly shun her.

Trained vigorously in the Dark Arts and Drow Wizardry by her strict, slightly insane Aunt, Alexandra Baenre was far from incompetent despite the fact that she had never once set foot in a school specializing in magic. Content with being home schooled, her father's sister deemed it necessary for her to live amongst fellow human witches and wizards to get her better acquainted with the world she would be forced to live in. Though she never voiced it aloud, her Aunt made it all too clear that her fellow Drow despised her merely because of the human blood that ran in her veins and the fact that her father was outlawed as a heretic. She herself despised the man, despite the fact that she knew he was little more than dust buried deep within the earth.

Alexandra shook her head violently to rid herself of thoughts involving her parents. She hated them, and she knew that any thought regarding them would leave her in more inner turmoil than she already was in. Setting her heated gaze back on the students, she was immediately drawn to a young man only slightly older than what she visibly appeared. Though the light in the hall drastically impaired her vision, she could see that the man possessed long black hair, tied loosely at the nape of his neck. 

Gifted, or in some cases, cursed, with telepathy, she could easily hear the thoughts of any student she chose, but for some reason, when it came to this man, she could not clearly read him. His emotions were so strong and so well hidden under the surface that they overpowered his thoughts, allowing her to only sense his emotions. Just listening in to his thoughts gave her a headache, and she had only scraped the surface of his mind. His emotions were like a wave in the ocean, strong enough to carry you under and ever changing. He was one of the few students not jabbering to someone seated close to him. In fact, now that she was focused on him, she realized that the other students seemed to be avoiding him, even going out of their way not to sit near him or meet his gaze. A smile formed on her lips as she finally realized why she was subconsciously drawn to this particular young man; he was different, different in the way that she was, and he was a complete and utter mystery to her. Although she could read minds and implant thoughts, his mind was like a puzzle box that immensely confused her.  
Alex licked her lower lip thoughtfully as she fantasized about the mysterious dark-haired man. Looking back to his well kept form, she saw his body go rigid, tensing as if he knew someone was watching him. Just as he turned around to find the person who was rudely staring, she averted her gaze and began searching out a new point of interest.

It wasn't long before she came to a tall, athletic blonde girl at the table over from the odd young man. She wore a large grin on her face and her hazel eyes sparkled merrily. However, Alex could see that the smiles and laughter was just a mask for the blonde, as if they protected her from any unwanted pain. She knew there was something not quite right about the seemingly happy girl, something beneath the surface that she took great pains in hiding from the world. Promising herself to befriend the blonde and get to know her better, Alex visually roved over the crowd once more. Without realizing it, her gaze had locked with the clear blue stare of a messy-haired young man. Attempting to see what he was thinking, Alex was shocked when she came to a large invisible wall in between herself and his thoughts. He was a complete and utter blank to her.   
'This is strange…I have NEVER been unable to hear a person's thoughts…' but before she could delve deeper into the matter, a loud female voice brought her back to reality. "Baenre, Alexandra." She knew it was now her turn to be sorted. Pushing the large oak doors open, Alex sauntered into the Great Hall. With her long braid swaying with her movements and tight black leather pants showing off her every curve, it was hard for the students not to stare at the enigmatic transfer. She was their newest mystery to unravel, their newest project to dig up information on.  
Stopping in front of the old, worn and tattered hat, just as she was told, Alex waited patiently as the older female professor removed it from the stool she had been told to sit on. Hopping onto the now empty stool, Alex was immediately engulfed in darkness and overpowered by a strong moldy odor as the hat was placed on her delicate head.  
'A half Drow? My, my…What to do with you, my dear…''Not Hufflepuff!….Geez, this thing smells funky…Haven't these people heard of Dry Cleaning?''I can hear you, you know. And I do not smell, as you so nicely put it, "funky".' Alex was only mildly surprised to know the hat could hear her thought, having been warned beforehand.'I am quite aware that you can hear me, and yes, you do in fact smell funky.''That's it…Hufflepuff will do you worlds of good- you might even learn some manners there!''I swear, if you put me in that sorry excuse of a house, I will be the last student you ever sort, hat.' Alex nearly growled at the hat's suggestion. She would much rather die than be placed in that House. Even she knew it was comprised of incompetent magic-users and cowards…or those who just truly did not care where they were placed, but she was none of those things.'You cannot harm me, Drow. It is forbidden for the students to even think it.''Wanna try me?' With that, Alex purposely flooded her mind solely with numerous thoughts and techniques of destroying said hat. Dismembering it stitch by stitch seemed like a formidable idea, but there were also the fundamental thoughts of burning it, dousing it in acid, or even just sewing its mouth shut to consider.'You want to play that game? You are a spiteful little one aren't you…'

"Huffle…" but before the hat could finish shouting its choice aloud, Alex whipped out a silver Zippo from her pocket and inconspicuously lit the brim of the hat on fire.

'You little wench! It burns!''Serves you right. You were getting too old to competently sort students anyway.'

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat shrieked in blind terror before being snatched off the brunette sadist's head. With a smirk, Alex hopped off the stool and headed toward the table of her new house mates. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched with mild amusement as numerous professors attempted to squelch the flames now engulfing the sorting hat. She noted with satisfaction how not one of the professors were paying absolutely no heed to the hat's shouts of protest at being stomped on.

**_I'm not your everyday Hogwart's student, I am well groomed, on time, efficient…almost too efficient…one teacher called me the next Voldemort behind my back. I am a man of few words, usually those words are the last you ever hear if you are on my bad side. I love my long black hair, and I pride myself on my style. I have an army of fan girls, which I usually take advantage of, and my magic skills make me a target for almost every newcomer wishing to challenge someone powerful to a duel in order to show off their power. On top of that, I seem to have limitless potential, with each year I have flourished even more than expected…my dark mood and utilitarianistic beliefs make me the perfect leader of Slytherin. Speaking of which, I rule it with an iron fist, anyone who wishes to challenge me, can at any time, though if they lose they are expelled from the House. This is the way of things. More specifically it is MY way of things and that is what matters. Since I am so powerful yet so…dark…and well…truthful, nearly everyone avoids me whenever they can, and I don't have a problem with it; in fact, I prefer it that way. _**  
Suddenly, his every sense went berserk , pulling him out of his introverted thoughts, as someone, some girl tried to read his mind. **_Nothing new, time to implement telepathic defense 3._** His thoughts cold and logical as he flung up a sea of emotions to block out his thoughts then went rapidly to work on reverse probing through her own tunnel so that she would not discover him. **_Hmm…drow…I have not encountered one of these since I left the employ of my old master…interesting…she may be of use to me…now to track her position…_**His eyes snapped open. "Gotcha." he murmured as the Drow, who was fairly good looking spun around trying to act innocent

"Right…." He said softly to himself as he settled back into his bench and watched the other students at play.

"I wonder where she will be sorted…." He muttered out loud and then smirked as he got out his wand, and immediately all of Slytherin froze.  
**_ time to fix this to my outcome…_**he thought as he prepared himself for casting a minor control spell that his old master had taught him. **_Now all I need is a distraction…_**he thought as his mind went through numerous possibilities. He calculated and calculated, reasoned and reasoned until he boredly looked up to see the impossible….the Sorting Hat was ON FIRE! **_Just what I need…_**he thought as his custom home made wand shot a streak of green light into the Sorting Hat.  
**_Now to Change Hufflepuff to Slytherin…_**he did so just in time as the hat screamed out

"Slytherin!" as its resistance to spells had gone down from it being distracted from being on fire. **_Excellent…all Is going according to plan…_**he thought with almost evil satisfaction.


	2. Chapter 2: Top Dog

**Chapter 2: Top Dog**

Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter stuff or the idea itself.

Soon after sitting on the bench across from her quarry, students were dismissed and sent to their respective dorms.

"Damn those imbeciles…" Alex mumbled as she was carried away with the sea of students, losing the long-haired young man in the chaos.  
After finally escaping the throng of overly hyped teenagers, Alex easily followed those heading in the direction of the dungeons. Before being sorted, she had been informed of the general location of each House's entrance, in hopes that the information would help her navigate through the halls better.

"Password's Nagini, new chick." A tall tanned young man commented to her, without even bothering to look back towards her. Red eyes quickly turned to slits as she glared at the human. Even though he was at least a foot taller than her, and she had to crane her neck to meet his gaze, she felt the unease he was feeling as she held his gaze. Already in a relatively bad mood, Alex growled,

"I have a name. It is Alexandra, and you would do well by addressing me with it, not 'new chick', as you so charmingly said." The young man shook his head vigorously to prove he understood, obviously too shocked for words.

"Now that that matter is out of the way, may I have the privilege of knowing the name of the human who so rudely insulted me?" She asked in mock mannerism. The young man swallowed hard, slowly regaining his previous composure.

"My name is Blaze…And I don't mean to cut this short, but if we don't get in soon, Nicholi will have our heads and you do not want to get on his bad side this early in the year." The young man, Blaze, nervously glanced about the now deserted corridor.  
_'How interesting. That man, Nicholi, instills this much fear into his housemates? Now I am certain that a meeting with him is necessary.'_

"Since you so obviously fear this Nicholi person, I will submit to your wishes without argument." Sighing in relief, Blaze stood in front of a blank brick wall and whispered the password. Almost instantly, the brick began to melt away, revealing a spiraling staircase leading downward in its wake. To her surprise, instead of going on in ahead of her like any other person would, Blaze stood to the side, hands clasped firmly behind his back. He caught her confused look and smiled slightly.

"What? You simply reminded of the manners I should have naturally exhibited without being provoked to.   
Ladies First." Letting the shock of his actions melt off her face, Alex nodded in acknowledgement and began her descent down the steps, Blaze trailing a few steps behind her.  
Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Alex mentally noted the way it led into a common room of sorts. Scattered about the room were a numerous assortment of silver armchairs and stationed in the center of the room in front of the fireplace sat a large dark green couch. Students of varying ages were scattered through the room, speaking in hushed whispers in hopes of not being overheard. Without bothering to see if Blaze was still behind her, Alexandra made her way to the large door to the Sixth year dormitories. The signs on the outer doors gave away what year were currently staying in that group of rooms. Pushing the large door open with her shoulder, Alex found herself in yet another hallway filled with closed and locked doors. These doors, unlike the others in the school, had the name of the owner inscribed on them. The dim light in the hallway was quickly progressing into a headache right behind her eyes. But even with her eyesight diminished, Alex had no trouble reading the signs, snickering at names occasionally.   
Finally, at the end of the long hallway stood her room. In bold black calligraphy it read:  
'Alexandra Baenre'. Though her eyes begged to be engulfed in the articial darkness of her room, another door caught her eye. Directly across from her room, far from the others like her own, stood a door bearing the name:  
'Nicholi Riddle' in ordinary block writing.  
_'Ah, so this is the one they all fear…'_ Alex smirked to herself as she glanced back at the solitary door, opening her own in the process. Alex hissed in surprise and covered her eyes with a hand.  
_**'There, so she is weak…But I suppose fear of an anaconda in your room is a well found reaction…'**_ Nicholi thought smugly, writhing in his animagi form. Eyes squeezed shut, Alexandra felt along the walls for some form of light switch. Sighing in relief as her pale hand met a small round button, she instinctively pressed it, plunging the room into manmade darkness.

"What the heck were they thinking, putting that many lights in one room? I could have gone blind!" Nicholi watched the girl in amusement, confusion beginning to etch its way onto his features.  
_**'Is she planning on sleeping? It wasn't bright at all in here before, all of the lights weren't even on.'**_ He thought.  
Alexandra stopped abruptly, her blood red gaze settling on the large anaconda nestled on her pillow as if it belonged there more than her.  
_**'Yes! I can almost smell her fear. Scream, c'mon, scream for me…!'**_ Alex's eyes grew wider as she met the snake's gaze. Shocking Nicholi into silence, a smile formed on the pale girl's lips as she nonchalantly walked toward her bed and picked him up. Stroking his smooth, scaly head gently. She wrapped the snake's long body around her torso and neck.  
_**'What the hell…?'**_ Nicholi thought frantically as the girl coiled his body around herself. Though in animal form, he could still feel the sensation of her skin against his.  
_**'Think dead babies…dead babies…dead babies…dead babies…dead babies….IT'S NOT WORKING!'**_**_  
_**Alex slowly sat on the dark green carpeted floor, her back leaning gently against her new bed. Without hesitation, she smiled lovingly at the snake now securely wrapped around her and stroked its textured body with her fingers.

"What an adorable little reptile you are!"  
_**'Little? Is she blind as well as loony?'**_ As if sensing the snake's resentment at her statement, Alexandra giggled softly.

"You aren't little compared to surface reptiles, but you are just a baby compared to the ones from my homeland. Don't worry though; you couldn't meet any of them unless I took you home with me!" As if a switch had been thrown, her smile melted away, replaced with a wistful, melancholic look that Nicholi couldn't properly identify.

"I had forgotten that I can't go home. They don't want me there. Bet you know what that is like, don't you?" The girl didn't know just how right she was when she had asked him that. Nicholi shook his reptilian head slightly, smothering such thoughts.

"Well, you see, my father was outlawed from the Underdark for his heretical teachings denouncing Lolth and marrying one of his human slaves. He was from the most influential Drow houses and due to his actions, he shamed not only himself, but the entire Baenre house as well." As she spoke, to keep herself calm, Alex gently stroked the snake. It was as if the motion allowed her to think on something other than the story she was telling.  
Realizing his mistake, realizing he was getting drawn into her story, Nicholi, as the anaconda, tried futily to pull away.

"Now where do you think you're going? I just started! If you tried that in the Underdark, you would be a shish kabob." Alexandra intoned, her voice soft and yet commanding at the same time.  
_**'Who the hell talks to a snake! PUT ME DOWN WOMAN!'**_

"Instead of torturing him to death, he was merely outlawed due to his family's power. So, we fled the Underdark, eventually settling in with a surface dwelling group of Drow. They too were exiled, exiled for there refusal to worship Lolth. Instead, they chose to be servants of Vhaerun. If you didn't know, Lolth and Vhaerun are Drow gods, but Lolth is the most powerful of them and she is the chief deity in Drow society. She is the Goddess of Spiders, Chaos, assassins, evil, darkness, trickery, destruction, and drow in general. Whereas Vhaeraun, her son, is the God of shadows, thievery, drow activity on the surface, drow males, and espionage. He is, quite frankly, an idiot who has failed numerous times at killing his mother."  
_**'..put me down!…'**_

"Anyway, we lived with these fanatics and during that time my mother, being human, would instill her values upon me, contradicting the Drow values my father was teaching me. Needless to say, they fought almost every second of their waking lives and living with exiled priests of Vhaerun, we lived in constant poverty. Of course, it didn't help that both of my parents were so hateful and unhappy that they spent most of their earnings on drugs. During one of their more heated fights, my mother stabbed my father in the stomach with a dagger she had stolen. Like any normal child, I hid under my kitchen table as I usually did when they fought. However, this was not like any of their other clashes…Both were at the end of their rope, and they both were extremely high and not completely aware of their surroundings." Alex paused, shaking violently as her memories took her back to that night.

"I watched from under my table as my father…ripped my mother apart with his bare hands, slowly bleeding to death himself."  
_**'What the fuck? How could any parent force their own child to watch that…not that I would know what having parents is like….and my master put me through worse than that everyday….but still not everyone is me…this must have been traumatic for her…'**_

"After that, the group we lived with took the violence and the fact that I was the sole survivor as a sign, a sign that I was a curse from Lolth herself. So, they sent me back to the Underdark to live with my Aunt, my father's sister and Matriarch of the Baenre House. Although I knew she hated me, she still taught me the Dark Arts and clerical spells invoking the aid of Lolth. Of course, she did this merely so I was not a burden but of actually use to the House, I still am grateful to her.

"Though most Drow were forbidden to carry on a conversation with me, I manage to befriend the Archmage. He was powerful, but because he was male, he could not rise any further in rank. I must say, he definitely spoiled me. I saw him visit my aunt one day, arriving through a dimensional portal of his own making and after that I became his pupil. My aunt never even noticed I was gone most days, that is, until she noticed that I was growing in power quicker than she could keep up with. She was unaware of where I was receiving my knowledge from, but being Matron, she feared I would usurp her position so she put a stop to it the only way she knew how: I became her stress reliever. Anything that angered her, or even slightly annoyed her, was taken out on me." Alexandra shuddered, her eyes taking on a haunted look.

"Being the Archmage, he could not simply unshackle me, so he made whispered suggestions to my aunt, eventually winning her over. I was not good enough to be her slave anymore so I was to be sent to the surface with the filthy humans I shared blood with. All of the arrangements were made for me to come here and they sent me away happily. In many ways the Archmage was like a father to me, but if he truly cared about me as much as I once thought he did, why did he not come with me?" A single tear ran down her cheek, marking the beginning of her inevitable breakdown.

"Look at me, getting all emotional on you. I haven't cried through any of this. Why now? You must think I am an idiot…" Alex shakily smiled. She wiped at her face with her sleeve, but she could not stop crying.  
_**'You aren't an idiot. Everyone breaks down sooner or later. You have every right to be angry and upset. However that does make you easier to manipulate…this little venture has proved quite profitable for me…I think I shall continue this ritual…' **_Once more stroking the snake, Alex was surprised to feel something farm flit across her face. Opening her eyes, she saw that the anaconda was licking away her tears.  
_**'Don't cry, it isn't very becoming of you, I'm sure that you will have your chance for revenge…'**_ Nicholi cursed mentally as he felt his bones begin to harden and elongate. He had spent too much time in his animal form, exhausting himself without even realizing it.  
_**'I must get out of here'**_ He thought as he licked her ear tickling her then slid down her and out the door into the halls and into the vent where he dropped down into his own room quickly remorphing into Nicholi and dressing appropriately.  
_**'Much better'**_ He thought softly.  
Alex watched in horror as the beautiful anaconda slithered away before her eyes.  
_'Oh well, he must have had some place to be, probably some person's pet. Well I think its time that I went to the commons room anyway. See if I can't find this elusive leader that is so feared.'_ She thought as she rose and unpacked.

Nicholi got dressed into his Green Slytherin Prefect robes. He put his black hair up in a pony tail and dusted himself off looking at himself in the mirror  
_**'Nothing but Perfection,'**_ He thought not in a narcissistic way but that was his motto. He put his green gnarled and twisted custom wand up his sleeve and put his decoy wand on his belt. He walked out of his room and closed the door, it locking automatically. He suavely walked down into the Commons Room where all his fellow Slytherin were hanging out. He sat in HIS green arm chair with his footrest and his book. His book was an old black leather bound book that had in silver handwriting on the front "The Lesser Key of Solomon".

**'_Now to enjoy my reading for the night…'_** He thought as he read contently, his Slytherin subjects went back to what they were doing but assumed utter silence.  
_**'In this House they understand the meaning of Silent as the Grave' **_he smirked as he read.  
Alex stayed in her clothes she had on previously and finished unpacking

"That should do it." she said to herself. She walked out of her door and locked it with the key she had found on her pillow. She walked down the stairs and into the Commons Room only to find the previously rowdy room now silent as a graveyard.  
_'This is odd…I did not know that teenagers could be this quiet…'_ she thought as she looked around to find the boy from earlier. She found him

"Why is everyone being so quiet?" she asked loudly. Suddenly EVERYONE in Slytherin shushed her and Blaze said

"Because it's HIS time to read…" he whispered. She looked at him as if he was insane

"WHOSE TIME TO READ?" she yelled at the top of her lungs wanting to show some defiance to the boy who dared try and control all of these people. Blaze cringed as a voice boomed behind her

"MY time to Read". Nicholi had put down his book and now stood decoy wand drawn and pointed at her

"And no one disturbs me without facing the consequences." She growled and drew her own wand.

"You don't know what your getting into…" they circled each other as the other members backed against the wall. In hurried whispers they placed bets and guesses on who would win or how bad she would get it.  
_'I better strike first if I'm going to show this guy up.'_ Alex thought as she waved her wand at him

"Incendio!" she shouted as a red burst of light shot out of her wand to Nicholi's clothes to which Nicholi immediately responded

"Finite Incantatem!" as green light shot out of his wand canceling out the spell.

"Countered." he replied as if bored.

"I'll show you!" she shouted as she yelled, "furnunculus!"

Nicholi yawned and said, "Protego" as a blue magical shield enveloped him deflecting her spell. She growled and pointed her wand at the lights.

"Reducto!" The lights shattered sending the room into Darkness.

"Lets see if you can fight in the dark." She said as she could see perfectly and pointed to his wand.

"Reducto!" Nicholi's decoy wand shattered into a million pieces. She smirked.

"And now to finish you, oh leader of Slytherin…"

Nicholi laughed. "Fool…I can use magic without a wand." Of course it was a lie, he just loved preying upon people's fears and that was why he concealed his real wand in his sleeves, to give the illusion that he was using magic without a wand. Her expression fell.

"You're lying" she said through gritted teeth.  
_'I hope that's a bluff…otherwise I am way out of my league…still this man…he is…so…crafty….its incredibly hot…' _ she thought but focused on the battle at hand.

"I'll show you." he said as he pointed to his broken wand and said

"Reparo" the wand collected itself together and the room gasped. Alex gritted her teeth.  
_'That was defiantly hot….how did this man get so powerful? I must learn his secrets…'_

Nicholi smirked "This has been fun, but I think I'll end this".

She growled, "You're so cocky…"

Nicholi nodded and said, "Disapparate" He seemed to vanish right in front of her eyes that could even see through the blackness that permeated the room.

"What? Where did you go, you coward!" she screamed until she felt a finger on her nose.

"Apparate. And I'm right here." Sure enough, his handsome but deadly face appeared right in front of her, his finger on her nose. She was too distracted by his hair to react.

"Lumos," he whispered as his wand fired a burst of white light up and out of his sleeve , making it look like wandless magic, into his finger sending her reeling from the intense amount of light. She flew back into the book case and fell to the floor clutching her eyes. Alex fell to the ground, utterly still and helpless. Nicholi glanced out toward his peers, daring them to help her, but just as he thought, no one stepped forward. They were too afraid of the consequences they would face. Removing a long leather whip from a hidden pocket in his robe, Nicholi smirked evilly.

"Because you are new," The students watching sucked in their breath, awaiting his verdict. She had drawn her wand on HIM, one of the many crimes he punished harshly for committing.

"You will receive five lashes for your insolence, and a warning that if you ever try a stunt like that again, I will personally kill you." The crowd exhaled the breath they were holding, relieved at his sentence. The last person who challenged him had not even been given a warning, Nicholi had just killed him with no remorse whatsoever. Letting the length of the whip unravel, he swung with practiced ease, cracking the whip on the defiant transfer's back. Cutting through the back of her shirt, he could see the welts from where he had hit her and the blood blossoming from the fresh wounds on her pale skin. Nicholi was shocked to hear nothing from her as he whipped her back like he would a disobedient slave. No screams, no sobs of pain, no pleas for mercy, nothing came from the girl on the floor in front of him. In fact, she wasn't even glaring at him anymore. Her eyes had gone peacefully blank, showing no emotion at all. Finishing up, Nicholi coiled the whip back up, blood still remaining, and placed it back into his robe pocket.  
Bending down to admire his handy work, he noticed that his marks were not the only ones marring her flesh. Underneath the blood of the fresh wounds, he could see other various criss-crossing scars of the same origin.  
_**'Interesting….I wonder if her stoic exterior is just an act and once reaching her room she breaks down….hmmm….'**_ Still smirking, Nicholi stood and brusquely strode to his room.

Once she was certain he had departed, Alexandra lifted herself off the ground, the pain in her back almost wholly unnoticeable due to her tolerance built up over the years of living in the household of a Drow Matron Mother. Holding the scrap of fabric that once was her shirt to her in an act of uncharacteristic modesty, Alex ambled back to her own dorm room to bandage her back.  
Upon reaching the sanctity of her dark room, she dropped the shredded cloth, leaving her upper body completely bare. Crossing the room toward her dresser, her shock was evident on her face as she caught sight of the same anaconda from earlier that day. All traces of discomfort and shock vanished from her face as she smiled happily at the snake that now rested contently on her windowsill, basking in the minimum amount of sunlight that escaped through her thick black drapes.

"What a cutie! I would have thought your owner would have watched you more carefully after your first disappearance, but I suppose I shouldn't complain, should I? After all, now I have someone to talk to again!" Bending down slightly to pick up the snake, Alex hissed in pain as she ripped one of the gashes wider.

"Damn, I am getting soft if that hurts so much. As much as that git across the hall irks me, he actually makes me feel like I am back home again. It is kind of nice…in a sadistic sort of way." Stroking the snake's head gently, Alexandra shuffled through a box on her dresser before extracting a small clear bottle of what looked suspiciously like salt along with alchohol and ace bandages.  
_**'What is she doing? She isn't going to…'**_ But before he could finish his thought, his reptilian eyes went wide as she poured the salt unhindered down her back over the gashes. Other than her slight hiss of pain, she had no reaction to the pain she was inflicting on herself. Sensing the anaconda's confusion, she met its gaze.

"I am building back up my tolerance for pain. If you get used to something, it no longer bothers you." As she spoke, she set down the salt and poured the alchohol down her back, letting it clean out any dirt or germs that had collected in her wounds. Satisfied with her work, she proceeded to wrap the ace bandage around her back and torso.  
With a small smile, she said,

"See? Now I won't get blood on my clothes and no one will see my scars. It is killing two birds with one stone."  
_**'Does she truly not realize that I had to have been an idiot not to have seen those scars when I checked my work? It isn't like they are small and fading.'**_ Nicholi thought with disdain.  
Slumping to the floor beside the windowsill where the snake still perched, Alex let out an exasperated breath.

"As much as I hate to admit it, that guy has style. I can't believe he had the gall to do that!" She said with a wide smile on her face.  
_**'What…?'**_

"I can't read him, and he beat me. A human beat me. Now I know for certain that he is rightfully feared by his housemates, which is all the more reason to get to know him. And that whip? Who carries a whip around in their pocket? Can you say 'Kinky much!' They actually stung too, and I haven't felt any sensation in my back for years, the nerve endings having been destroyed much earlier. That man…he is so mysterious and hot…damn…I hate him…but I love him…and I want him…One thing is for sure though, it will not be dull trying to get to know him!" She enthusiastically said, smiling happily up at the snake.  
_**'What is wrong with this girl? Who the hell is she…?'**_


	3. Ch 3: Predicaments, Potions, Postulates

Chapter 3: Predicaments, Potions and Postulates. 

The next day, Alexandra made her way to the Great Hall, feeling only a slight twinge of pain in her back. She took a seat far from her House Mates, happily immersing herself in her thoughts. Once she was finished her breakfast, she headed back to her dorm room to prepare for classes. To her surprise, the anaconda was back, relaxing in the same spot as it was the previous day.

"Oh, you are never going to believe what he did!" Alexandra gushed, happily telling the snake about her life.

'**_You wanna bet?' _**Nicholi thought. Alex stood and lifted him off the windowsill, elegantly twining his long body around her torso and neck once more. Nicholi fought, with no success, to keep his thoughts out of the gutter, but when your naked body is wrapped tightly around a girl's, it is rather difficult to think of anything else but that. Stroking his scales gently, Alex nuzzled her nose to the snake's snout.

"You are just too cute!"

The snake shook its head, as if to say,

'**_Do stop. You are only embarrassing yourself.' _**Walking around her room, though it resembled dancing more than walking, Alexandra began,

"I went into the common room after you left and it was quiet- it was more silent than a graveyard at sunrise. It turns out that the self-proclaimed leader of Slytherin, Nicholi Riddle, has his own designated reading time. I am sorry, but I will be damned before I take orders, so I continued to speak. Both of us felt that the other had offended us so a fight ensued. Alex paused, closing her eyes as if savoring the moment.

"I was too shocked, no, I still am shocked. He beat me with wand less magic. He must also be a very perceptive person to notice my aversion of bright lights; otherwise he would never have used that particular attack on me, being that it does not affect average humans." She shook her head, a smiling forming on her lips. Repositioning him, Alex's stroking grew less absent-minded and more and more deliberate.

'_**Dead Babies….Must think of Dead Babies….' **_

"He beat me. A human male beat me. But that is not the worst of it. He looked so hot and yummy with that whip in his hand. You can definitely tell he had much practice with it. The fierce look in his eyes as he 'punished' Alexandra made everything below the waist clench together tightly. He is so dangerous, it makes me want to pounce on him; He just makes me so hot!

Just from the look in his eyes, I can tell he would be a-fucking-mazing in bed." Alexandra said, her features taking on a thoughtful quality. As she spoke, her stroking went from gentle and soft to deliberate and a slight bit rougher. As she went, she began stroking lower down his body, drawing a shiver out of the snake.

'**_Must keep concentration…Not feel her hands on my skin…..Mmmm, it feels so nice….' _**Nicholi thought as he felt his skin texture begin to slowly change.

'**_Oh Crap!' _**His bones began to elongate and harden as he shifted from anaconda to his human form. Now sitting on her bed, Nicholi faced a livid Alexandra., His nude body straddling hers. As the thought of his nudity struck him, he felt his cheeks go red, a slight red blush creeping on his cheeks

'_**Not Good! I've been caught with my pants down. I am unarmed, nude and straddling a girl, and that girl coincidentally is the same girl that just got whipped by me.'**_

Expecting her to be outraged and out for revenge, Alex surprised him.

"What the hell are you doing? You were spying on me? You are such a pervert!" Toward the end of her rant, she took notice of his nudity, causing her to trail off. She fought not to look, but eventually gave in and found herself staring at his well taken care of form.

'**_Good, she is distracted. Now is my chance…' _**With that thought Nicholi said "Disapparate!" vanishing from sight and then he said "apparate!" appearing right in front of Alex's door knob. Smirking toward her, he reached for the knob and turned. His face fell as he realized that his only escape was locked.

"Oh shit…"A jingling sound brought his attention back to Alex. The sight before him made his eyes go wide with a mixture of worry, confusion, and admiration. She lay on her bed, twirling the key ring on her finger.

"You aren't going anywhere." Nicholi visibly gulped. Jumping off the bed, Alex began walking towards him.

'**_I cannot let her get me. I must get away!' _**And with that he disaparated away from her, making the first move in their cat and mouse game. Each time she would near him, Nicholi would simply disparate to a new area.

Finally tiring of the game, Alex pulled a box out from under her bed.

'_**How long does she plan on keeping me here? I mean, she has to leave the room sometime.' **_

"Believe me, like I said, you aren't going anywhere. I can last a long time without food." As she spoke, she opened the box and began eating the obviously drow meal. Nicholi fought not to gag or cough from the smell. Finally losing his patience, Nicholi burst out,

"Uck! That smells horrible!"

"Yes, and it is only going to get stronger because I am not offering to open any windows for you." Alex answered without even looking up from her food.

Suddenly, a loud beeping began. Alexandra and Nicholi looked around in confusion for the source of the sound. After about ten minutes of searching, Nicholi finally realized that the sound was just his watch alarm warning him that he had two minutes until Potions Class.

Eyeing Alex cautiously, he took a step towards her.

"We are late for Potions Class." He said monotonously.

"Your point being?" Alex replied, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Trust me; you do not want to be late for Potions Class."

"And why is that?"

"Professor Snape is a hard ass." Alex had to stifle her laughter with a hand. Although she knew he was probably right, she would much rather keep him locked up in her room to torture all day.

Rolling her eyes, Alex picked up her backpack, and replied,

"Alright, fine. Let's go then." And with that she unlocked the door and exited.

Nicholi hurried across the hall and quickly changed into his clothes still burning from the embarrassment that he had just been through. He saw Alexandra had yet to leave and grumbled to himself about having to tolerate her in his house. It was only Nicholi and Alexandra in the Hallways, making the silence between them even more awkward than usual and making the tension between them seem almost tangible. Ignoring the uncomfortable feeling they both got in each other's presence, they finally arrived at the dungeons. Being a gentleman, Nicholi pushed the heavy mahogany door open and held it for Alex. Nodding her acknowledgements and thanks, Alex entered, ducking under his arm. Alexandra managed to snag a seat towards the front a little off from the other students, save one. Pushed a little away from the others, her desk and another stood isolated amongst the other desks. Closing the heaving door behind him, Nicholi sauntered into the room, ignoring Snape's admonishments. Much to his horror, as he took his seat, he came face to face with Alexandra once more. Apparently, she had chosen the other desk that was isolated from the others, meaning they would be partners for the year.

Snape rattled of a list of ingredients to a potion neither Alex nor Nicholi cared too much about. Noticing Nicholi's lack of interest caught Snape's eye.

"You think you know this potion well enough to not pay attention in my class?" Snape sneered, not expecting an answer.

"Actually, yes I do, Sir." Snape paled.

"Fine then, what is the next ingredient?"

"The next ingredient is poppy seeds." If possible, Snape paled even further, while Nicholi had his eyes closed and his feet resting on top of his desk.

"If you know it so well, Mr. Riddle," He growled,

"What exactly is the most important ingredient of this particular potion?" Nicholi smirked at the man's resilience.

"The most important ingredient is the claw of a Dragon."

"That is correct." Snape replied through gritted teeth as he turned back towards his desk.

"Actually, Professor, I disagree." Alex spoke up, causing Snape to turn back around, glaring at her.

"What may I ask do you digress about, Miss Baenre?" He asked once more through gritted teeth, butchering her last name.

"Dragon's Claw is not the most important ingredient. Dragon's claws are not exactly easy to obtain, so it is much easier to replace that ingredient with 5 quarts of blood from a family's first born child. It is infinitely simpler." Snape, along with the rest of the class, Nicholi not included, eyed the new girl like she was crazy.

'I like her…She is arguing with Nicholi….but I also hate her, because she is changing the ingredients, making me look amateurish.'

"Well, actually, blood is a high seller now, so a Dragon Claw just might be easier to obtain…unless you hire a cheap bounty hunter to get the blood for you…" Nicholi retorted thoughtfully.

"Human blood is not selling high! The drow would never waste their time finding a dragon claw when human blood is so much easier to come by." This time Snape jumped into the conversation.

"That is because drow are a horrible race of traitorous monsters that are dying out."

"You are obviously an idiot." Before Snape could reply to Alex's insult, Nicholi broke in the conversation again.

"It doesn't matter which one you use, either way the potion gets made….But I agree with Alexandra. It is much simpler to obtain human blood than the claw of a dragon." He said nonchalantly, as if they were having a conversation about ice cream, not killing the first born in a family just to use its blood in a potion.

Snape stared at Nicholi incredulously.

"You have absolutely no morals, boy."

"You have room to talk. You are going to teach me about morals?" Nicholi sneered. He seemed genuinely insulted by Snape's comment. As Snape opened his mouth to reply, Nicholi smirked evilly, tapping his forearm lightly with his wand. Instinctively, Snape covered that area with his hand, the spot that held the Dark Mark from Voldemort. Nicholi was threatening him with the fact that he knew it was there. Snape had no choice. He nodded in Nicholi's direction, offering up a truce. As Nicholi nodded back his acknowledgement of the truce, Snape picked up with the lesson he had begun earlier.

Through all of this between Nicholi and Snape, Alex just glared at Snape, thinking of names to refer to him as.

'_Man, this guy is like the original ugly duckling. I bet when he goes out that little children cry at the sight of him. There we go! Frankenstein! …..Hmmmm….He looks like a wannabe vampire, or a vampire that has given up blood…or better yet, A liche gone wrong! He has to be one of the most hideous creatures I have ever had the misfortune to set eyes on. He puts new meaning to Night of the Living Dead. And that hair! Has he never heard of shampoo? I think I could wring his hair, there is so much grease. He needs a lesson in personal hygiene….Christmas isn't that far off….'_


End file.
